A Sewing Funk

Recently I have been in a sewing funk.  It's hard to find time to sit at my sewing table...too many other things that need to be done.  Once kids are in bed and dishes are washed, I just lack the energy to go sew. 

I spent two hours last Friday, while John napped and others were at school, perusing old sewing magazines and websites looking for Easter ideas.  I've done the math...I have made 5 French hand sewn bubbles, 3 FHS button on suits, 1 FHS romper, 5 FHS shirts, and 1 Eaton suit.  People, I am out of ideas!!  There's very little inspiration out there, too.

So while I am usually pumped about Easter sewing, I am having a hard time this year.  Saturday was Peanut Butter n Jelly Kids annual Super Bowl Sale.  I went and did a little damage.  I've got some ideas...just need to get started.

After the sale, I forced myself to finish some projects first.  Here's some sweet corduroy pants I made for William to go with all of his lace church shirts.  This fabric is gorgeous...picture doesn't do it justice.

John got two new bubbles.  The first was smocked by my friend Susan.  When she was pregnant with her first, she smocked several inserts for a baby boy...along with girl stuff too.  God blessed her with two baby girls, so she gave me this insert and fabric.  I put together the romper for John.  I love it!!

Next is a bubble I started when John was about 3 months old!!!  Finally finished it this weekend.  Pretty happy with it too!

Maybe completing a few things is the motivation I need to shake the sewing blues and get busy!  Plus, after these outfits are done there's lots of little daygowns to make for a special baby arriving in July! 

Hop off the floor, friends, it isn't mine!!!  My sister is expecting her first, and I can't wait to do a little sewing for this much anticipated little one.

I Wait, therefore, I Sew

Since the baby has not decided to show its face yet, I have been busy at my sewing machine.  With Chris working late nights and my inability to sleep right now, I feel like I have gotten a lot accomplished since finishing the Easter outfits.  In fact, Chris wandered downstairs the other morning at 5:15 and told me that the baby better come soon or my machine my die!

So, what have I accomplished...

a coming home gown for the baby if it is a boy (the girl gown has been in waiting for six years!)

a gift for a friend

lots of shorts and t-shirts for Daniel

What you won't see is anything for Philip!  A month or two ago, I made him a couple of shirts and a few pair of shorts.  I consulted him on fabric, appliques, etc.  Unfortunately, they have sat in his drawer unworn.  I'm okay with him outgrowing my sewing...especially since I have three more to sew for.  It is a sad reminder, though, that my days of sewing for them are finite.

Daniel made it all worthwhile today.  When he came home from school and saw all of his new clothes, washed and put in his drawers, he said to me, "Thank you, Mama, for making me those shirts.  I love them!"

I still have plenty on my list to do, so while #4 continues to stay put, I will continue to make progress!  I know from experience that my machine will be quite lonely after the baby's arrival!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

Whenever William wears this...

he demands that you sing the Peter Cottontail song over and over to go with it!  He sings along and it is absolutely precious.  Needless to say, we wear it a lot!

Last Sunday was our neighborhood Easter egg hunt...a little early, but oh well!  Check out the boys attire...

In our house, Sunday afternoon has always been a wear what you want to type of day.  I remember Philip as a toddler always wanting to wear his Alabama t-shirt and his only pair of shorts!  It is basically a reward for letting Mom give them no say so in their church attire!

This Sunday being no different, Philip came home and put on his hand-me-down (from his preschool teacher's son) Star Wars t-shirt.  I don't typically let him wear it out of the house because I'm not big on the look but more importantly it is about three sizes too big. 

He couldn't believe I let him wear it to the egg hunt.  To be honest, I had been up the night before with what seemed like endless contractions (that did thankfully end!) and I just didn't have much fight in me.

Daniel, on the other hand, is typically too lazy to even change out of church clothes!  So deeming it too hot to wear pants, he put on his red twill shorts with his Peter Pan collar shirt.  Very interesting combination.  Again, Mom didn't say a word.

At least William was dressed for the occasion!

The hunt was fun.  Nice to be in a neighborhood full of kids! 

Let the sugar high begin...

Fridays

TGIF has new meaning for me! At the start of February, I put William in Mom's Day Out on Fridays. I have thoroughly enjoyed my four morning hours of time alone...something that I have not had consistently in almost two years.

So what am I doing with myself?? Sewing! I have really enjoyed getting back into sewing. Other than the boys Christmas outfits, I hadn't sewn something for them since August. Pitiful! Since William started school, I have made the boys' t-shirts, a jon-jon for William, and I have finished William's Easter outfit. I have also hemmed pants that have been sitting on my table for weeks.

I love having the big block of time to sew. It motivates me and excites me to get back to my machine at other times too. It's a good thing because warmer weather is here and we desparately need some new things.

This Friday is different though...no downtime. Chris and I have a secret trip planned for the boys. I'll give you a hint....I made this for William to wear...

Don't tell. They won't find out until we wake them at 5:00 am Friday morning ready to head south!

Sewing...a blessing or a curse??

Did you know that I love to sew? I started sewing six or seven years ago. I did not have children, but I started even then with the intention to sew for children only. Starting before they came along was fabulous because I had time to go slow and perfect things.

I love the creative outlet that sewing gives me. I love dreaming up new things for them wear and then seeing them come to fruition. I love going into a children's clothing store, seeing something I love with an outragous price tag, and then being able to come home and make it.

Three boys later, it is really hard to find the time to sew like I want to. I have such good intentions...long lists of things to make for each of them. In addition to my ideas, occasionally they have things they want made. The reality is there is little down time in my life right now. Someone is up by 6:00 am, Philip and Daniel do not nap, and thus, I have a child awake and needing me from 6:00 am until at the earliest 7:30 pm. And then there are all the other things that need to get done...laundry, dishes, cleaning, paying bills, etc.

But when I do get to my machine, it is heaven. I relax and stitch away. Is it always relaxing? No...I'm generally trying to meet some deadline that is unrealistic and thus makes me hurry.

Which brings me to why it is a curse...mistakes! I worked hard these past two weeks to make the boys some bathing suits before swimming lessons started. I was developing my own pattern for the swimsuit lining and that simply takes time. I made Philip one and a t-shirt to match. Then I made them one set of matching bathing suits...

William actually has one too, but he was napping at picture time. As you can see, not much progress made on my matching outfits therapy. Anyways, they loved them.

The mistake...I put the buttonholes for Philip's drawstring on the side of the waist instead of at the front!! So he has two holes in the side waist!! You can't really see them, and I am going to try to take it apart and put two more in the front. So frustrating!!!!

Despite the mistake, the boys made me happy when they chose to wear these instead of any others in their drawer! That makes the effort worthwhile!

Spring Sewing

I had a period of about 10 days when I really produced some clothes for the boys. It always seems to work like that. I can give one to two weeks of spending all my free time on sewing. After that, I am burnt out and the little things that have been neglected need tending to...things like paying bills, non-essential laundry, etc...

So what did I accomplish in those ten days...

First, a caterpillar bubble for William's first birthday.

A t-shirt and bubble swim suit for William's first trip to the beach. I made up my own pattern for his shorts and LOVE it. I am not a fan of boy's store bought bathing suits. They generally go down to my boy's mid-shin and simply are not attractive. I loved the idea of bubble shorts for a baby with some good looking thighs.

I finally finished the monkey smocked shirt for Daniel. It has been a long time coming. I think I started it last fall. I had already made pants for it, but seeing that the days are now in the low 90s I had a buy more fabric for shorts! He loves the cargo pockets that I put on them!

A linen church outfit for Philip. I saw a picture in PBJK a few months ago of a ring bearer wearing this and thought it was adorable. I am always on the lookout for church clothes for him, so I had to make it! I love the shorts on this pattern...wasn't really crazy about the raglan sleeves on the shirt though.

Finally, there were two baby gifts...one for an associate in Chris' firm and one for baby Sarah, our close friend's new cousin!

Whew...there's so much left to do. I am busy smocking some sea turtles that picky dresser Daniel picked out. I have three matching bathing suits on my sewing table waiting to be finished. Lots of other projects on my mind!

Oh to be a little boy...

Here's the excitement at my house yesterday...

The boys stood at the window for quite sometime watching the trash truck. It loaded trash, they covered the trailer with a tarp, unhooked the trailer, and another truck arrived with a fresh trailer. My little men watched for quite awhile!

I mentioned in the last post that we have had it all...fever, diarrea, vomitting, ear infections, etc. Well, I lied. After being up in the middle of the night with a very fussy William, I discovered this...

a rash all over his sweet little body. I promptly called the PopPop who came over with the diagnosis...roseola. Good news...the bad part is over. He isn't even contagious anymore. One of the textbook symptoms is extreme fussiness...

Check.

In other news, Chris took the big boys to the hunting camp this past weekend. I was supposed to be doing some Easter sewing. Well, I did do some Easter sewing...just not on their church outfits. Here's two outfits that I made for Daniel and William. Because they are green, they are doubling as St. Patrick's Day outfits too! Here's Daniel's...see William's above.

Hopefully, we are on the road to recovery now!

Happy Mardi Gras

Let the good times roll! It's Mardi Gras time here in Mobile! To be honest, we don't do a whole lot of Mardi Gras'ing in this house, but here's our recap of the season...

I took the boys to the Ashland Place Preschool parade last week. Daniel was timid at first but soon realized that these paraders were his size. They loved seeing their friends parading!

Last Friday, Chris and I went to the Dragon's. I wondered what the boys would think of Daddy in his costume. Philip said he looked like a "dragon"...ever the realist. Daniel said that he looked "cool." No comment on that...

We had a good time at the ball. Susan, Rob, Norman, and Louisa went as our guests and it was fun to have some adult time with both couples!

Saturday night we took the boys to a parade in Fairhope. The parades there are great because there are simply less people. We also like it because we have HA's Fairhope office to go inside for bathroom breaks. We caught the parade twice...once at Susan's Fairhope office and once at HA's office. Great since Daniel is still scared of the parades. Chris and Philip watched...Philip loved it! I don't have any pictures...we were running late and had our hands full with all three boys...no room for a camera!!

In the meantime around the house, we've been doing a little celebrating too. We made lots of different masks which the boys loved. We used different templates and then either painted or glued our cutting practice scraps to it. When we finished I hung them from our dining room chandelier.

We had several parades of our own...some outside and some from the top landing of our staircase...


We even learned a little...we sorted beads by color, counted how many we had of each color, and made a graph using single beads...


We did a little cooking too...a king cake...actually, two of them...one for us and one to add to our Mardi Gras package we sent to our cousins up north....

Daniel helped...

Also, have to add a picture of the shirt I made for Philip. It turned out so cute except that the "Philip" leans a little...oh well...I'll do better next year!!

We are headed downtown again today with Aunt Elizabeth for the Floral Parade. I will try to catch a few shots to share. Tomorrow is actually Mardi Gras day, but we will be staying at home. We are all trying to recover from a trip to Tuscaloosa...more on that later!

Thanks, MD!

Many thanks to my sister, Mary Dawson, who gave me the fabric to make these outfits. MD, I'm sorry that you weren't able to put it to use, but I love the boys' new outfits. Philip and Daniel have been wearing theirs to church since this fall, but I just finished William's this weekend. I loved seeing them in it this Sunday!

We had a good weekend. Chris took Daniel on his first over night trip to the hunting camp. He had a ball. He's quick to tell you that he saw "pive deer." That's five if you don't speak two year old.

Philip took it well. On Friday, he played for at least two hours with both sets of neighbor boys. About 5:30, he came to me and said "let's go inside and go to bed!"

Chris took Monday off and we all ventured to the outlets to do a little shopping. We capped off the morning with lunch at LuLu's. The boys love eating there because of the large "sandbox" to play in.

Busy week ahead. My Junior League placement begins, my presentations for the capital campaign continues, and I am hosting one of the capital campaign meetings at the house on Thursday. It should be interesting!! I have 23 confirmed guests and have heard that the bishop may be coming too. Lots to do before then!

Glory to God in the Highest...

And peace to his people on Earth!

Wow...we are tired...even Roxy.

We had a great Christmas. Daniel and William woke early Christmas morning...not because of excitement, but just because they always do! Philip woke up around 6:30, and we all headed down the stairs...well, I fell down the stairs. Chris caught it on video, but I don't think I'll share!

The boys had a great time seeing what Santa brought.

The big gift was a new swingset. Santa left a letter explaining that he didn't have the room in his sleigh for it put together, so he left it for Daddy to do. I don't think the boys were too excited about this gift since it wasn't ready to play on yet.

The hits were lots of Legos for Philip...

camo hats from Susan and Rob...

capes made by Mom (okay, they weren't hits at first, to my dismay, but they have worn them a lot since Christmas!)...

puzzles, Play-Doh, toothbrushes, gloves, books, fire trucks, games, and so much more!!

On Christmas day, we had lunch with Aunt Elizabeth, GranGran, and PopPop. GranGran fixed steaks, and asparagus. Chris made his twice baked potatoes. Delicious!

After lunch, we all headed outside for our annual snowball fight. The boys had a blast targeting Aunt Elizabeth and me!

While the little guys napped, Chris began putting the swingset together. PawPaw and PopPop helped!

Little did we know, it would take two and a half days. Chris spent his whole vacation on this project. He did a great job and the boys love it! We had Will and Patrick over to play on it yesterday and everyone had a blast!

On Sunday, we headed to Pensacola for a McGough family get together.

Mom, Dad, Elizabeth, and my crew met up with Ona, Bobby, Bob, Tina, and Big Mama for corn and crab chowder. Philip and Daniel had a blast running around Ona and Bobby's backyard with their dog, Honey.

Even William sat on a blanket and giggled at his brothers and the pup!

Yesterday ended the vacation. We were sad to see Chris go back to work, but I think getting back to the routine was good for us all. We stayed home all day. Will and Patrick played here for a couple of hours and then Philip went to their house for an hour that afternoon. Needless to say, he was exhausted by the days end!